Studying
by Unleashed Reasoning
Summary: A day of studying and mischief...
1. The Book

**A/N:** Um... I was attacked by a plot bunny. It came out of no where! Er... so... this is the result. Uh, and... I own nothing, yadda yadda yadda... and... um, on with the story!

------------

They were all sitting around studying. Even the outers had come to join them, though they really didn't need to study. The temple was serenely quiet, the only sounds of a random turning of a page or the scribble of a pencil on paper disrupted the silence. The air was comfortably warm, and for once, Rei's grandfather was out visiting another temple and leaving them in peace.

Usagi was actually reading her text. Every now and then the others would glance at her to see if she would suddenly burst into impatient ranting or try and squeeze in another break. But, to their shock, she didn't. She remained entirely focused on what she was reading, only pausing once and a while to scribble something down.

It was almost unnerving to watch. Their carefree leader was never studying. She was never serious about hardly anything but her love for her friends and family. She was never one to sit quietly for any extended period of time. And, so far, she'd been sitting silently, studying, and being serious, for over an hour. It was even making Ami fidgety, even though she'd been trying for ages to get the blond to calm down and take her schooling serious.

Perchance, they all happened to look up and see if anyone else noticed the strange oddity occurring. They all blushed slightly seeing as they all were neglecting their studies to sneak suspicious glances at their princess. It was certainly out of the ordinary.

"Uh, is anyone hungry?" asked Makoto.

All of their eyes locked onto Usagi, all of them expecting her to leap up and start cheering happily. However…

Usagi didn't move. Usagi didn't even look like she'd heard Makoto. Everyone exchanged stunned looks. Minako wasn't about to let it go at that, though. She leaned over and nudged Usagi with her elbow.

"I thought I saw Makoto trying to sneak in a chocolate cake," she said, wiggling her eyebrows. Usagi grunted in annoyance.

"Minako, I'm studying," she answered.

Everyone twitched. Just… twitched.

Was their princess ill?! Had some horrible monster taken over her body?! Had someone CLONED her?!

Rei swallowed, daring to try one more trick.

"Hey, Usagi, guess what manga I bought today? I got the last four books in that vampire series! Did you want to read it?"

Usagi didn't even look up.

"Rei, I'm busy," she said distractedly, moving to scribble something down.

Everyone's jaw dropped in horror.

Haruka immediately jumped to her feet and jabbed her finger at Usagi.

"Who are you and what have you done with our princess?!" she bellowed… effectively knocking over the table in the whole process.

Usagi squealed in horror, diving for her book and notes.

"Haruka!" she whined, snatching both items off the floor as if they would get dirty. "I'm trying to study!"

Haruka swayed on her feet, shell-shocked by her princess's words.

"But… you… studying… I…" stuttered the tall blond, her face pale.

Michiru reached up and gently took the blond's hand, pulling her down to sit beside her. After making sure that Haruka wouldn't pass out or do something stupid, Michiru turned her attention to Usagi.

"Usagi, I'm very proud of you. I've never seen you so into your studies. You've grown up quite a lot." She then proceeded to smile that unearthly serene smile that only she could manage to pull off.

Usagi blinked a couple times. After a moment, she cocked her head to the side and scrunched up her face, as if trying to figure out what Michiru had just said.

"You're… proud of me?" Usagi asked in confusion. She was so used to getting berated, she was quite certain she'd heard wrong. She then burst out laughing, scratching her head sheepishly. "It's okay," she said. "You don't have to kid around. I know I'm not good at anything other then eating." She smiled brightly and once again opened her book, propping it in her lap with her notebook on the floor next to her.

Michiru turned a very interesting shade of white, her entire body going rigid. Her princess thought she was kidding around?!

Haruka waved her hand in front of Michiru's face, but the aquamarine haired girl didn't even blink. Harkua frowned, poking the frozen girl's cheek.

"Uh, Michi, anyone home?" asked Haruka, snapping her fingers in the girl's face. Michiru didn't move a muscle. Haruka turned a horrified gaze to the others. "She broke Michi!"

The other's sighed at Haruka's antics. Then, slowly, as if nearly against their will, they looked at their oblivious princess.

"Do you think a new enemy stole her soul?" asked Minako aloud. Everyone still carrying their sense, gave her 'the look'. "What?" she asked innocently. They just continued to stare at her. She huffed. "Any of _you_ care to explain what's going on with her?" she asked in exasperation.

Ami frowned, pulling out her computer and giving Usagi a quick scan. She frowned at her findings, the others avidly crowded around her. She looked up with a somber face.

"There's…" She paused, leaving a pregnant silence hanging between them. "Nothing wrong with her."

The other's fell over.

"Ami!" cried Rei. "Did you _have_ to freak us out like that?! We thought something was wrong!"

"Something is wrong," corrected Ami. "We just don't know what it is."

All of them sigh, Usagi still completely ignoring them.

Haruka thumped her hand down on the table, which Rei had moodily righted.

"We have to figure out what's wrong with our princess! This isn't like her at all!"

Haruka began looking at each of them one by one, as if trying to either impress the seriousness of the situation on them or simply to be dramatic. Honestly, none of them could tell which it was.

Michiru was still in la-la land, so she wasn't of any help.

The door slid open and all of them turned to find Setsuna standing there.

"Setsuna!" cried Hotaru. "Fix Usagi! Papa says she's broken!"

Setsuna blinked down at the girl before turning a confused gaze to Haruka.

"Usagi's… broken?" she asked, lifting a dark eyebrow. Haruka's cheeks turned a small shade of pink.

"She's acting weird," muttered Haruka, waving a hand at the still studying Usagi.

As soon as Setsuna saw Usagi, she took a step back and gasped loudly.

"You mean it's true?!" she blurted out, snapping Michiru out of her daze. "But I thought-! Does this mean?!" Just as quickly as she took a step back, she took a step forward, an odd glint suddenly in her eye, and what can only be described as a devious smirk spread across face. "This could be interesting…" she practically purred.

All of the senshi but Usagi leaned away from the woman, all of them looking spooked.

"They took Setsuna too!" hissed Minako… a little too loudly.

That effectively made the others relax and roll their eyes. Setsuna just continued smirking. Setsuna languidly entered the room and took a seat by the distracted Usagi. She leaned in close to the blond and nearly purred in the younger girl's ear.

"What are you studying so intently?" she questioned.

"Stuff," answered Usagi, her attention still fully on her book. Usagi suddenly let out a small gasp of surprise, making the others jump slightly. "Woooooow!" gushed Usagi. She squealed, bouncing up and down where she sat. "That is so cool!" She brought the book right up to her nose, eyes wide with excitement as she kept on reading.

Unfortunately for the senshi, Usagi had put a book cover on the book, so none of them could see what she was reading. Setsuna's smile, however, only got bigger… and just a little bit more creepier.

"Sounds interesting," murmured Setsuna. "Care to share?"

Usagi gave her a distracted, "huh?"

"Won't you tell us what you're reading?" persisted Setsuna.

The other senshi lean in close, now fully interested in what the blond held in her hands.

"It's a book about…" Usagi's sentence died off, her attention once again taken. Setsuna chuckled while the senshi all looked ready to smack Usagi upside the head.

"It's about?" continued Setsuna.

"About…" repeated Usagi. "OH!" she exclaimed. She slammed the book closed.

Everyone jumped, even Setsuna.

They all stared at their princess, who was blushing madly.

"What on earth are you reading?" asked Rei, reaching to take the book out of Usagi's grasp. Usagi squealed and yanked the book out of reach, sending Rei toppling forward onto the table.

"Noooo!" wailed the blond. "Don't read it! It's bad!"

"Idiot!" roared Rei. "What are you reading?!" She made another attempt at grabbing the book, but Usagi deftly avoided her.

"No! You can't! It's bad!"

"What's so bad about it?" asked Makoto.

"It's just bad!" cried Usagi, dodging Minako's sneak attack.

"But you were reading it so intently…" remarked Ami, eyes locked on the book curiously.

"What kind of bad book?" asked Haruka, looking slightly intrigued. Michiru blushed and slapped her shoulder.

"Hush!"

"But what if-"

Michiru hit her again, stopping her mid sentence.

"Hush! There's no _way_ she would have gotten her hands on a book like that!" reprimanded Michiru.

The inner senshi and Hotaru exchanged confused looks. Setsuna just kept grinning. All of them turned their attention to their princess again, who was looking highly agitated.

"Usagi…" said Rei in a dangerous tone. "Tell us what you're reading."

Usagi laughed nervously, her arms still wrapped tightly around the book.

"Do you really want to try fighting off all of us?" asked Minako with a smirk.

"IT'S MINE!" cried Rei, lunging for the book.

Usagi shrieked and scrambled out of reach. Rei whirled around to pursue her. Usagi paled at the glint in her senshis' eyes. She swallowed, edging her way around the room.

"Uh, come on now guys… you really don't want to do this…" stuttered Usagi.

"Hand over the book, and we won't tie you down and gag you," said Minako, her face scrunched up in glee. Usagi seriously doubted they _wouldn't_ do just that, even if she did hand the book over peacefully. Which she wouldn't do…

Just as they moved to attack her, Usagi threw open the door behind her and chucked the book away from her.

"NO!"

Everyone took a step forward in horror, but it was too late. The book landed squarely in the sacred fire.

"What have you done?!" cried Rei. She tried to run forward and grab the book, but Usagi blocked the doorway.

"Burn, book! Burn!" cried Usagi, cackling madly.

The senshi watched sadly as the book was consumed by the fire until it was black and starting to crumble into ash.

Rei huffed in disappointment, shooting a scowl at Usagi.

"And you call _me _a pyro?"

Usagi turned a victorious grin on them, crossing her arms over her chest in triumph.

"There! Now none of you shall read it!" she declared proudly.

"Why can't you just tell us what you were reading?!" roared Rei, her arm waving around angrily.

Usagi sniffed airily, a smirk on her lips.

"Tell you? Why, I'd have to show you!" She laughed. "Tell you!" She snorted. "As if!" She shook her head and laughed, turning around to exit the room.

All of the senshi stared at the door open mouthed.

"What was…" began Makoto.

Setsuna shot to her feet and eagerly made her way to the door Usagi had just left through.

"Where are you going?" demanded Haruka.

Setsuna paused to shoot them all a cocky grin.

"Are you kidding me?! That was damn sexy! I'm not letting it walk out the door!"

The other's blanched.

"What about Mamoru?!" exclaimed Ami.

"What about him?" asked Setsuna. "He's all the way in America. What is he going to do about it?" Her smirk was predatory.

Ami dropped her book, Hotaru blushed, Minako started drooling, and Haruka was sporting her own small grin. Michiru went off into la-la land again, Rei staggered, and Makoto was rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"By the way," continued Setsuna. "I get first dibs!" And in a flash, she was out the door.

It only took Haruka a single blink to get her bearings back.

"Like hell you do!" she bellowed, giving chase immediately. "Hurry Michi, or we'll lose her!" she shouted over her shoulder.

Michiru flinched then leapt to her feet.

"Run like the wind!" she commanded her blond partner. "If you lose her, you're sleeping on the couch for a week!"

"Oh, no way in hell am I getting left behind!" stated Makoto, storming in Michiru's wake.

Minako and Rei exchanged glances. They jumped when Ami stood and hastily made her way out the door, a heavy blush staining her cheeks.

"They dare think to leave the goddess of love behind?!" bellowed Minako. She waved her fist in the air dramatically. "How dare they! Retribution to them all!"

Rei watched in stunned silence as Minako took off roaring down the hall screaming about retribution. Rei slapped her face.

"Idiots." Her mind drifted back to the moment Usagi stood poised in the doorway, the sacred fire glowing dangerously behind her. Rei blushed darkly. "Damn." She dropped her arm and scowled at the doorway. "You better leave some for me!" she growled, charging out the door.

Hotaru stood in the room alone, eyes wide. She took a deep breath and walked over to another door and opened it. She then patiently walked out of the room, mumbling to herself about "not being outdone".

Distantly, you can hear the sounds of shrieking, shouting, and insane cackling.

---------

**A/N: **Um... hahahahaha! I thought it was rather amusing. I hope it made you all laugh. I finally managed to trap the plot bunny so I can focus on my other stories, but his brother is now attacking me. Anyway, toodles!

(PS! I leave all the extra lil tidbits up to your imagination :) like what book she was reading and what not, hehehe.)


	2. Avoidance and Jealousy

Mamoru looked confused. No, scratch that. He was flat out confounded.

He'd come home for a visit, expecting to find an overly eager Usagi greeting him with a bone crushing hug and possibly a sweet kiss. Instead…

No one would meet his gaze directly. And they kept blushing. Which was odd, but… hey, they did their thing and he did his. It didn't bother him much… except his Princess kept doing the same thing. She kept getting this distracted look… but only when she looked at her fellow Senshi. Usually she only did that when she saw _him_. Plus… she giggled on and off out of the blue, eyes focused on something he couldn't see.

It was… a little disturbing.

He'd tried several times to ask about her odd behavior, but she always managed to brush him off. And he couldn't figure out how she did _that_ either, seeing as he's usually very good at getting her to spill the beans.

They're sitting awkwardly at the Crown. Everyone was always looking everywhere but at him. Actually, they seemed to be avoiding each other as well. Which confused him further. Somehow, they were managing an entire conversation without making any eye contact at all. Nor did they even dare glance directly at whomever was speaking. They're eyes roamed high and low to avoid each other, and even the Outer Senshi appeared to be engaged in the odd game. Setsuna even went so far as not even pretending to look around. She just stared off into space above their heads with a fixed gaze. Plus, she had an eerie little grin on her face. Seeing as she usually held no emotion what-so-ever, it unnerved Mamoru greatly.

So… he was the sole partaker in dragging out the conversations and trying to get a bearing on what was going on…

He was failing miserably. No one said anything out of the ordinary. Nothing beyond the odd avoidance and random blushes indicated that anything was wrong. So he was left in a predicament of trying to decide what to do with the hapless bunch.

Time for plan B.

"Hey, Usako, why don't we go for a walk?" he said sweetly to the blond beside him.

To his shock, eight pairs of eyes locked onto him immediately. Each gaze leveled a disquieting amount of animosity to boot.

Usagi slowly turned her wide eyed gaze up to meet his. "A walk?"

Internally, he deflated. There was no squeals of joy. There was no leaping to her feet and dragging him out the door. There was no quick goodbye as they departed ways with the Senshi.

What the heck was wrong with everyone?!

"A walk," he said softly, hoping, praying he was imagining things. "It's a beautiful day, and I haven't seen you in a while…"

Did she just hesitate?! She didn't, did she? He's only imagining it! That had to be all it was! He's just been so worried about his time away from her, odd ideas were popping into his head!

"Sure, Mamo-chan."

Relief was instant and energizing. It caused him to practically leap out of the booth and drag her to the door. "Great! I heard the ice cream stand is still out! We'll grab some ice cream too!"

The Senshi gawked at his strange behavior but made no move to stop him. Instead they waved distractedly as Usagi bid them farewell.

Mamoru was ecstatic! Not only was he getting to spend time with his favorite blond companion, they were away from the weird awkwardness at the Crown! He was almost skipping, he was so happy!

… Except… there was still this oppressive cloud that hung over him. He tried to shake it off and lighten his mood by pulling Usagi closer, but that only seemed to make the cloud heavier. Trying not to let it bother him, he smiled winningly at the blond as he talked to her animatedly.

From the trees a safe distance away, eight faces peered angrily at the couple.

"This is so not fair!" hissed Minako. "I _totally_ had dibs on the park idea!"

The others shot her a glare before turning back to the scene where Mamoru was handing Usagi some ice cream and they took a seat on a bench.

"Why did he have to come back today?" growled Rei. "I mean, he's been gone for _months_, and he decides to come back _now_?!"

"I know," groused Haruka. "We had this great role play thing we were going to try out."

Michiru glared hotly at her lover while the others blanched.

"And you didn't tell _us_?!" they all hissed.

The couple actually blushed. Then Haruka smirked and propped a hand on her hip. "Actually… that wouldn't be a bad addition…"

Michiru glanced at her lover in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Bandits."

The others jerked in surprise when Michiru started to drool. "Ooo, I _like_ that idea."

The other Senshi backed away from them.

"_He's kissing her!_" declared Ami. A dangerous cooling of temperature around her quickly had the others scattering to a safe distance. Immediately, shards of ice began shooting out of the ground, tearing up a good chunk of the park in about an eight foot radius around her.

"Ames! Calm down!" Makoto was the only one who dared enter the radius. She quickly jumped over to Ami and pulled her into a hug. "You'll give away our location!"

"You know," remarked Hotaru. "She's kind of scary when she loses her temper."

Setsuna smirked. "And kind of sexy."

Everyone but Ami and Makoto just looked at her.

"I think being stuck at the Time Gates so long has really deprived her sexually," commented Haruka. "She's getting seriously sleazy. Maybe even worse then me."

That earned her a staff to the head and a fist to the cheek; Setsuna stood regally aloof while Michiru's eye was twitching.

"DID HE JUST GROPE HER?!" bellowed an irate Fire Senshi. All eyes darted to the accused.

They gaped.

Rei, frothing at the mouth, unbeknownst to herself, unleashed a massive amount of power.

End result?

A nice pretty explosion rocked the ground and sent up a nice cloud of smoke and dust high into the air. It caused birds and what not to flee the scene.

Mamoru was oblivious, as his attention was solely focused on the blond in his arms.

Usagi, however, sweat dropped. She knew perfectly well what caused the explosion and knew that things were going to get ugly quickly if she didn't do something fast.

She pushed away from Mamoru. "U-um, I have to get going. My, uh, parents, wanted me home early today."

He smiled. "Just a little longer." He pulled her close, daring to lean in and nibble on her ear.

Usagi gulped as a bigger *boom* sounded loudly behind them. It even caused a serious amount of wind to whip their hair around wildly.

Pushing away again, Usagi tried to smile as she scooted away. "No, really, I have to go. They'll worry."

"Usako," he said huskily. "I just want to spend time with you." He ran his fingers along her jaw and neck.

*WACK!*

Something hard smashed into Mamoru's face, making him go sailing through the air and tumble some yards across the ground before coming to a halt. Usagi eeped, wide eyed as she watched the whole thing agape. As the dust settled, his prone figure is lying face down, unmoving.

"Damn, no fair," complained a voice behind her. "I wanted to do that." Haruka comes to a stop beside the bench.

Makoto snorted. "You were taking too long. Besides, Ami would have gotten to it first, had Rei and her not canceled out each others attacks with that last blast."

As proof of this, all of the Senshi, minus Usagi, are covered in soot and looking water logged.

All of their eyes lock piercingly on Mamoru's twitching body.

"Lecherous bastard," sniffed Setsuna. "He only treats Usagi right when it suits his own fancy."

The others nodded.

Usagi just stared at them. "Um, guys, you're not supposed to kill my fiancé."

"What a good idea," grinned Minako. She cackled and rubbed her hands together eagerly. "O-h Mamoruuuuu!" she called in a singsong voice while skipping over to his unconscious body.

Panicking, Usagi chased her down and tackled her. "Bad Minako! You can't kill him! You'll get into trouble!"

"Not if they can't find him," the blond answered, eyes gleaming in the sunlight.

To her shock, the other Senshi now seemed to be considering the idea.

"No! Bad Senshi! Bad! No killing Mamoru!" She began to muscle Minako away from the prone man, amazed at the petite blond's strength as she struggled to escape. After hardly getting a few feet away, and still struggling desperately to hold Minako back, she growled and whirled on the taller blond. "Minako! Behave!"

Startled, Minako froze under the demanding stare of her Princess. After a breath of gawking up at the commanding air of her Princess, Minako got stars in her eyes. "Yes, Princess!" swooned the Senshi of Love. She then proceeded to melt into Usagi's grasp and cling to her.

Usagi squawked under the new… assault, and was flailing her arms about trying to decide if she should pry the girl off or not.

"Princess," called a voice softly over her shoulder. "Why don't you allow us to escort you away from this place?" Hotaru stood behind her, smiling serenely.

Usagi blushed under the black haired girl's mature and calm visage. "Uh…"

"Yes," added Ami, smoothly bowing slightly and fixing a cool and rapturous stare on Usagi. "Present… company, is quite, vexing." A quick glance indicated Mamoru, who still hadn't moved.

"Surely we can offer the Princess a more suitable recreation," continued Haruka, planting a soft kiss on the back of Usagi's hand.

Head reeling, Usagi was unable to come up with any tangible reply other then, "u-uh…".

"A certain priest is away for the next few days," Rei said calmly. It clashed oddly with the fire that was burning brilliantly in her eyes. "We could adjourn there, for peace and quiet."

"I have a wonderful wardrobe for you to try on, Princess." Michiru gently fingered Usagi's hair. "I'm quite sure there are some items that would suit your complexion well."

Blushing madly, Usagi blinked rapidly in stunned silence, biting her lip nervously.

"Shall we go?" asked Matoko, holding out her hand invitingly.

Before Usagi could answer, Setsuna swept her up into the air bridal style. "Why don't we take the rooftops? The view is splendid, this time of day."

With a squeak from Usagi, all of the Senshi leapt into the air and disappeared into the light of the setting sun.

Mamoru was left twitching, forgotten. When he woke, he'd forgotten entirely how he'd gotten there and why he wasn't in America still. When he'd tried to contact Usagi's home to speak with her, her parents kept informing him that she was out and probably would be gone for several days. Seeing as his return ticket would expire before her expected arrival, he ended up leaving before getting to see her.

The Senshi… well, lets just say they made sure their Princess was 'occupied' quite well during that time, ensuring that the Prince and Princess didn't meet (again). As for Usagi… it took her _weeks_ afterwards before she was able to coherently form proper sentences…

* * *

**A/N: **Oh, bad me lol

Um, someone suggested in the reviews to do an "aftermath" type of deal... and, after rereading the story, I kinda suddenly got this wicked idea... Ya know, after that day, they kinda avoided talking about it or doing anything further... and then Mamoru comes home... and suddenly, jealous and overly protective senshi to the rescue!

So... the plot bunny's attack resulted in this. Hopefully you find it as amusing as the first half.


	3. Dealing With Children

Haruka paced in frustration before the temple steps. She'd been pacing like that for the past hour.

Michiru had been designated to calm down the wind Senshi, but it had no effect when Michiru's smile was NOT serene in the least. Actually, the rest of the Senshi were a bit unnerved how disturbingly sinister that "fake" serene smile was.

Rei huffed and stood crisply. She marched right up to the wind Senshi and forced her to a complete halt. "Will you knock it off?! You're driving me crazy! We're all as frustrated as you are! You're not helping any of us keep our tempers!"

Haruka's charm failed her in that moment. A small curl of the lips and she was practically sneering down at the priestess. "Don't."

Minako, with a less than pleased sigh, drug herself to a standing position. "Calm down. We're all riled and-"

"SHUT UP!" shouted both Senshi at the same time.

Minako's face drooped until her bangs hid her eyes. A weird aura started building around her, causing both Ami and Makoto to flee behind Setsuna. "Excuse me?" asked a deceptively calm Senshi of Venus. "Correctly I didn't hear you…"

Both irate Senshi were opened their mouths to shout yet again and correct her slip of tongue… until they noticed the now VISIBLE aura emanating from their designated leader when Moon wasn't around. The fact it was audibly CRACKLING was not a good sign either… Not a good sign at ALL!

"Uh, we were just uh, commenting how late Usagi is!" stuttered the short haired blond. Her "winning" smile was twitching.

"I was… j-just trying to uh, distract her! Um, cause, you know…" Rei trailed off. She started edging her way behind the taller wind Senshi. Said wind Senshi squawked and was just about to find a place to flee to…

When a voice of blessing saved them both.

"Hello everyone!" called a loud bubbly voice. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting!"

All heads snapped to attention as a very particular blond came jogging up the steps. Smiles were just forming on their lips.

"Hey Dumpling Head, wait up!"

All the Senshi froze. Dare their eyes deceive them?!

Following Usagi up the steps was none other than the Three Lights!

Seeing as Usagi paused to talk to the said Lights, she was still far enough away that she couldn't hear her Senshi above her talking amongst themselves.

"I thought we'd solved the problem of competition?" came the bland remark from Hotaru.

"It seems that finding their own princess has not satisfied their tastes," said a frigid sounding Ami. Her eyes were narrowed on the fact that all three lights were crowded around Usagi in a rather intimate manner.

"I distinctly remember already threatening them once," answered Haruka, arms crossed in a rather leisurely fashion.

Michiru chuckled softly. "My dear, you only really threatened the one. The rest came more as an afterthought."

"To give her credit, they hadn't seemed like an actual threat at the time," defended Matoko.

"It seems we were mistaken!" came the bubbly reply from Minako. She was bouncing rather eagerly on the balls of her feet.

Setsuna let out a low purr. "Mmm, normally, I'd feel just as threatened… But a part of me wants to know if she's… learned anything new?"

Ami giggled. It caused a quick glance from the others before their eyes locked back on their target.

Ami's smile became nearly as serene as Michiru's. "I'm never against learning something new. However, I do protest exposure to… such vexing characters as these three individuals for any prolonged periods of time."

Michiru laid a gentle hand on the blunette's arm. "Oh, your choice of words is so fitting. I am quite in agreement."

Disturbed and feeling like shouting "wonder twin powers away", Minako quickly tried to get everyone's attention. "It seems our nemesis' approach."

"Shall I retrieve the extra large garbage bags?" asked a rather cheerful Makoto.

Haruka smiled charmingly at her. "If you would be so kind?"

"Now, hold on ladies," interrupted Rei, raising one hand with elegance, making the others pause. "We must go about this with poise and rationality…" Her cool amber eyes watched as Usagi lead her new 'friends' up the temple steps with a positively giddy air. "If we are to make any impressions at all, it must be done properly, so that such impressions can never be erased." There was a soft and almost calming lilt to her voice, expression nearly wistful.

Minako crossed her arms petulantly. "We can't barbeque them then?!"

With a disarmingly beautiful smile over her shoulder at them, Rei looked positively radiant and every bit the mysterious and gorgeous priestess of legend as the wind teased her long raven tresses.

Every Senshi stood poised, awaiting her coming comment with baited breath.

"I expect, if done properly… our welcome will have them fleeing in absolute terror." Rei beamed at them. Minako quickly fell to her knees and bathed herself in the warm light, holding her arms up in praise.

"Great one! Show us!"

In a flash, the once warm amber gaze turned down right soul burning.

The others gasped, shielding their eyes from the destructive gaze.

Minako swooned.

Makoto swore she heard Ami chuckle darkly.

"Now, ladies, attention please," commented Rei, gaze of doom replaced with a sunny smile. "We have 'guests' to greet."

As if she'd just bellowed out a command to her troops, all of the Senshi snapped to at the head of the stairs. Usagi looked positively delighted to see them. She was so excited, she turned to talk to the Lights and point eagerly up at her friends awaiting their arrival.

The Three Lights looked up as one, Usagi's gaze still locked upon Seiya's face and hence oblivious to what happened next.

The gaze of Doom was unleashed by all of the Senshi upon the temple steps, aura's swelling into such frenzy, it looked as the Demon Lord himself had come to tear their souls from their bodies. The Three Lights didn't stand a chance. In one fell swoop, the three collapsed to their knees on the steps as if their strings had been cut.

Usagi looked positively mortified that her new friends look like they'd been hit by a bus, and proceeded to try and shake them awake.

A high keening laugh… the owner of which no one could quite identify, filled the air. It went unnoticed by the frantic princess, but the Three Lights visibly began shaking as two crows swooped low overhead cawing loudly. It looked as if the three were getting their souls sucked right out of their agape mouths.

Then Usagi turned around and the entire atmosphere of death completely disappeared. She frowned up at them with innocent worry. "Guys! Something's wrong! You have to come help!"

All of her named Senshi smiled down at her indulgently.

"But of course," answered Setsuna, her voice magically carrying down to her princess even though she'd spoken softly.

As the Senshi took a step forward, the Three Lights had regrouped enough to realize that the creators of such a horrific sight were coming TOWARDS them! Without even hesitating a breath, all three launched to their feet spouting apologies.

"Sorry Usagi!" called Yanten. "Not interested!"

"We uh, have several previous engagements to attend to!" burst Taiki.

"I'm not feeling so hot Dumpling Head! Maybe another time!" shouted Seiya.

And with that, the Three Lights hightailed it out of there and into their limo before Usagi could blink. It sped away with a squealing of tires.

She watched them go agape. It'd taken her months after that last battle to try and work up enough mutual understanding between groups for this meeting to even be a possibility! And they'd run off before even getting to the top of the steps!

Slow comprehension darkened her visage. Slowly she turned to find her Senshi exchanging rather smug looks. Her face fell into shadow, lips down-turned in such a fashion no one could mistake it for it was a far cry from a pout. She was just about to unleash a holy terror of her own… when a familiar voice called out to her and a hand fell upon her shoulder.

"Usagi."

Usagi turned to find the very Princess the Three Lights had striven so hard to save still standing calmly beside her. The redhead smiled beatifically at her fellow princess.

The Senshi realized that a fourth member was present and quickly turned in surprise.

"It seems there's been a change of plans," the other princess began sweetly. "Why don't you come over for a visit while the 'children' cool off." She gently brushed her fingers across Usagi's cheek. "I've been dying to show you around my own homeland. There's a garden I'm sure you'll simply fall in love with." She leaned in close so their breaths mingled but their faces never touched.

The Senshi's jaws dropped.

"Red alert!" cried Minako, leaping into the air with a jab at the sky.

Usagi's eyes fluttered as the Kakyuu softly traced a circle over the blond princess' cheek. "It would greatly please me if you would join me on a small… vacation."

Usagi hummed a response without even thinking coherently about it. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Kakyuu smiled and quickly built her power up for the appropriate travel to her kingdom. Just as her power peaked enough to transport them both, she looked up to find the dumbfounded Senshi gaping on the steps. She shot them a quick wink before both princesses disappeared into the sky as a shooting star.

A roar of frustration filled the air.

Haruka stood seething, fist held up threateningly. "Now I bloody hate that planet for sure!"

* * *

**A/N:** I've decided that this little series amuses me and that if I get any random ideas for it I will continue it. I wanted to actually do a 3 lights scene more isolated, but this ended up being more entertaining to me, as the small twist at the end wasn't planned but I loved it too much to be rid of it. If I can I will write a better and more 3 lights friendly scene at a later time. Maybe it will be the Studying side story or something. We'll see, lol. Anyway, hope ya'll find it amusing.


End file.
